


A Happy, Neck Snappy Reunion

by EttaEvie



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Assassin Akabane Karma, Attempted Murder, Bickering, But technically no implied sexual content, CEO Asano, Daddy Issues, Gen, Idk just read and that might make sense, Karushuu Week 2021, Kidnapping, M/M, Murder, Road Trips, Sort Of, The Karushuu is implied but they don’t fall in love or anything cuz they’re them, also sort of, implied Resolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28890171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EttaEvie/pseuds/EttaEvie
Summary: Being an assassin, Karma has never been tasked with protecting someone before, but a job is a job.On a scale of 1 to 10, Gakushuu would rate the experience "Almost wish he had come to kill me instead"
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Asano Gakushuu, Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu, Asano Gakuhou & Asano Gakushuu
Comments: 18
Kudos: 120





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the Karushuu Week 2021 prompt: Assassin

“You’re assigning me to protect someone?” asked Karma into his phone, kicking his feet up on his couch. “Is a client confused about what it is we do here?”

“Well, it’s still an assassination job. Intercept and eliminate. _Then_ protect the target’s target.”

“Can’t you do it? This might be your last chance for those maternal instincts to kick in,” said Karma, only half joking. If he was tasked with coddling some helpless millionaire, no actual coddling was going to take place. Nagisa would be much better suited to looking out for their useless civilian panicking and emotional needs.

“You’ve always been more of a brawler than me. It lends you better to the confrontation in this job.”

Karma sighed. Dramatically. “Fine. Send me the info.”

The files pinged to his phone almost instantly after hanging up, Nagisa always quick to the punch. Though Karma had just sat down to settle in for the night, he figured he’d take a page from his best friend’s book and skim through his briefing first thing.

The client was a third party. The reason for hire: recently confirmed suspicions that the CEO of a tech security company was under threat of assassination. Now that they’d uncovered the plot, they needed someone to thwart it outside of police intervention, or the company would certainly go under.

All well and good, if annoying.

He scrolled further to find the name of the spoiled brat he was being forced to babysit, thumb suddenly freezing over the screen.

“No way.”

In a hotel this nice, Gakushuu Asano figured, he shouldn’t have to be letting maintenance into his suite to fix something while he was present. He had _just_ gotten back from a party (glorified networking event), and should have at least gotten a heads up before he was letting the help into his quarters. He’d have to make a note never to book from this chain again.

“Do what you must and get out.” He waved the maintenance man off as they made their way into the suite, turning his back to pick up the room service menu on the kitchenette counter. He _was_ planning on ordering something, but paused briefly as a note of suspicion, and agitation at possible tampering, entered his mind. For someone as meticulous and organized as he was everything had a place, even in such a temporary space as a hotel room. He could have swore he left the menu on the nightstand.

His eyes narrowed. Furthermore, there were dessert dishes in the sink, and candy wrappers-

His deduction was cut off when he was suddenly yanked back by the neck, a cord choking off his breath. He reflexively grabbed for it and twisted, but the man behind him was larger, and strategically out of reach of such simple countermoves. He quickly resorted to flailing, throwing his weight back against his attacker, and yelped without sound when he was pulled off his feet. His entire head pulsed with constricted blood flow, and for a flash he wondered if this was the end.

But then, as suddenly as it had come, the cord was released, and he dropped to the floor in a fit of coughs. With watery eyes he turned to see two figures scuffling further into the suite. The maintenance man was fighting with… a cleaner? And it was a bizarrely skilled fight, Gakushuu could still tell, his brain whirling as the oxygen returned to it. 

With a twist, the cleaner took the maintenance man into an impressive hold, and suddenly a crack resounded that Gakushuu felt in his bones. The body of his attempted murderer flopped to the floor as he stared on breathless.

The cleaner too was a bit breathless as he staggered backwards, his hat knocked off and red hair askew when he finally turned to look at Gakushuu. The CEO was hit with yet another shock.

He’d recognize those golden eyes anywhere.

“Akabane?!”

“Remember me?” Akabane threw him a winning smile completely at odds with the situation. There was a devilish gleam in his eye Gakushuu recognized all too well. “Gotta say, I expected better from you, Ace-kun.”

“How did you--? What--” Gakushuu got to his feet, quick to recover once he'd gotten his physical bearings. Mentally, he grasped at straws until he was able to grab hold of the irrational need to defend himself against the taunt.

Old habits.

“It was a surprise attack.”

“Most assassinations are.”

Gakushuu started at the reveal that this was an assassination attempt, and not some bizarre mugging. Still, he recovered in time to snap back, raising a finger. “They had to invent a new shade of black for my karate belt back in high school.”

Akabane remained easygoing, slipping seamlessly into the banter like he was still lounged at his high school desk making Gakushuu’s life just a little less tolerable. “So I caught you on a bad day? Just like I caught you on a bad day during senior year finals?”

Heat flared through Gakushuu’s veins at the simple mention of his salutatorian failure, even ten years later. But in the face of Akabane’s raised brow, he took a deep breath, attempting to focus on the present. Be the bigger person, for once. Speaking of bigger people…his eyes returned to the floor. He’d been caught up in their argument, but…

Akabane toed at the dead assassin, making him flop onto his back.

He couldn’t believe he’d been bickering over a dead body. Two minutes into their reunion and Akabane had already driven him mad again.

The fiend in question was smiling at him again, if he ever stopped. “Wanna help me hide a body?”

There had been an attempt on his life. Akabane, an assassin, had been hired to protect him, and escort him to a safehouse where he could be better debriefed on his situation. This was the least plausible way Gakushuu could have imagined his night turning out.

As they passed through the hotel lobby Akabane kept hold of a luggage cart containing unusual cargo, without a single fingerprint of assistance from Gakushuu.

_“I will do no such thing,” he’d hissed back in the room. “You are not making me your accomplice.”_

Gakushuu hurried to keep pace behind him, back straight as he tried to appear normal. He smoothed his shirt in a nervous fit. “Akabane.”

“Sure, use my government name in public, why don’t you?” Akabane grunted as he pushed the cart along. Gakushuu was pretty sure he was exaggerating the struggle to make a point, considering his supposed skill as a contract killer. “When I’m working, it’s just Karma.”

Not a bad code name, Gakushuu could woefully admit, but _he_ knew that it was Akabane’s true first name, not just some alias, so it felt too weird to call him that. Everything about this scenario felt weird.

With quick navigation they reached the parking garage. Usually valets would make sure Gakushuu never saw this place, but now they were trying to keep as little eyes on them as possible.

Akabane had the audacity to ride the cart across the empty lot like an unsupervised child in the supermarket.

“I already took care of the cameras,” he called back when Gakushuu strategically waited in the blindspot by the door. He popped the trunk of the lone black suv with tinted windows. “Honestly, Ace-kun, what do you take me for?”

Gakushuu chose to bite his tongue on his response while they were still technically in public. Instead he made his way to the passenger side and climbed in without a word. There was strawberry milk in the cupholder. Despite himself, Gakushuu smirked with an amused shake of his head. What a _child_.

Akabane settled behind the wheel. “So worried about your reputation. What if we get pulled over and searched with an unidentified man in the trunk?” The assassin bared his teeth a bit as he smiled, clearly trying to cause his client further stress.

Gakushuu grinned just as sharply. “In that event I just as easily become your hostage.”

“So cold, Ace-kun.” Despite the mock woundedness of the words, Akabane looked delighted. The expression was just as annoying as it had been when they were teenagers. Rivals at each other’s throats for three whole years.

They’d parted ways after graduation. To the very end, Akabane had lorded his first place spot over Gakushuu, while Gakushuu lorded his pile of college acceptance letters over a seemingly directionless Akabane.

_“I’m an entrepreneur,” Akabane had retorted. “I’m going in halfsies on a business venture with a friend of mine.”_

_“That’s a lot of words to say ‘unemployed’.”_

After he left for MIT, he had bigger fish to fry. He forgot about Akabane entirely. Or at least tried to.

“I can’t believe your business involved such shady dealings as murder for hire,” he muttered as they pulled out.

“Look who’s talking. The whole reason you’re in this mess is because of your own company’s shady dealings.”

Gakushuu waved him off airily. “Every successful company is barely legal, Akabane. I would expect you of all people to understand that.” He paused, realizing he hadn’t yet been told what had gone wrong in the first place. “But what exactly is it that crossed the line?”

Akabane laughed at him for not being able to immediately pin down the issue. “Have your fingers in a lot of pies?”

“No. Well-”

“As much as I would love to hear about how you failed to organize a company that wouldn’t collapse into lawsuits without you, I wasn’t given many details. You know your head tech guy?”

“Horibe?”

Akabane picked up his phone. “Oh look, you actually know the names of your underlings.”

“He’s my chief technology officer. I have to know how my own shit works.” Gakushuu remembered his last interaction with Itona Horibe quite well, actually. The man was odd, but he got the job done.

Akabane hummed, eyes still on his phone.

Gakushuu nearly had a heart attack as they made to merge onto the highway. “Watch the road!”

“Okay, okay, I got it!” Akabane narrowly avoided a semi, setting the phone on the dash to raise his hand placatingly. Gakushuu was allowed one moment of relative peace. “God, you’re so cranky.”

Gakushuu turned away with a cross of his arms. “Probably has something to do with almost getting murdered today.”

Akabane barked a laugh, surprising him. His comment wasn’t that funny, was it? … No, it was Akabane looking at his phone _again._ “Oh, shit.”

“What?”

Akabane sighed heavily as he let the cell fall into the center cup holder with a rattle, finally displaying an emotion other than amusement at throwing Gakushuu’s life into further chaos. “There’s been a change in plans. Looks like you and Horibe just became fugitives.” His golden eyes came back to meet Gakushuu’s lavender as the latter froze, his smirk returning. “You’re gonna have to make this up to me later, Ace-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I make this a multi chapter fic, yay or nay?
> 
> I'm not the most experienced with this fandom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a mil for the yay votes guys, I was actually afraid I wasn’t gonna be able to think of a plot for this, but then it hit me.
> 
> AU context: Karma and Gakushuu went to the same high school and were ~rivals~. Karma and Nagisa went to the same middle school and stayed friends despite going to different high schools. Korosensei never happened but they started an assassin firm after high school because in this world I guess that's a chosen profession rather than something thrust upon slavic orphans. But hey, this is much less weird a concept than the actual show.
> 
> Also I’ll be referring to Asano as Gakushuu now but no other edits have been made

“What do you mean, fugitives?”

“As in, a warrant has been issued for your arrest,” Akabane explained slowly. Gakushuu resisted the urge to snap his neck and have him join their companion in the trunk.

“You know what I mean, asshole,” he hissed. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Well the original plan was to just get you to a safe place, since you’re away from home. The situation has obviously escalated, though. That calls for some addendums. And like I told you back in the room, you’ll get a full debrief once we reach our destination.”

Not wanting any vital information filtered through Akabane’s smart mouth anyway, Gakushuu settled down silently for the rest of the drive. Akabane eventually pulled them into a spot directly outside of a motel room. Gakushuu looked around from his place inside the car. He’d never actually been somewhere this…ratty before, but he guessed now it worked to their advantage. No one would look at them twice in a place like this.

Akabane knocked against the glass of his window. “Waiting for a gentleman or something? It’s just me here.”

Gakushuu got out and followed him to the door, tapping a foot as he waited for it to be unlocked. “Akabane.”

“What did I say Ace-kun? It’s Karma, don’t be afraid to get familiar.”

Gakushuu’s eye roll quickly transformed into a wrinkled nose as they swept inside the dirty motel room. It was cramped, smaller than the separate bedroom in his hotel suite, and only had one bed. Crammed into the corner was a wooden desk with a swivel chair, which _Karma_ had already made his way over to to set up a laptop.

“Nagisa can debrief you on what’s happened,” he said, stepping back to let Gakushuu take the seat. The CEO promptly got settled and waited for the video call to pick up. At the sound of the door opening, he looked back. 

“Aka-” He cut himself off. “Karma. Where are you going?”

“Don’t be needy. I have a body to dispose of.”

“Just bring it here.” Gakushuu started and spun to see a new window popped up on the monitor, revealing a contact with blue hair. “Kirara can take care of it. She loves that stuff.”

“If she’s willing to take on the work, I’ll give it to her.” Karma shut the door and dropped his bag on the TV stand. He reached inside, and instead of the torture devices Gakushuu had been imagining, pulled out a Nintendo Switch. He let himself flop sideways across the bed, head and hair hanging as he lifted the screen above his face to play.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Asano. I’m Nagisa,” greeted the blue haired man on the screen, surprisingly polite for an assassin. “I hope Karma didn’t give you too much trouble.”

Ah. This man, as Karma’s partner, may understand his pain.

“Kotaro Yanagisawa appears to be the name of the man who ordered the hit on you,” Nagisa informed him. “The most obvious reason being that he’s the CEO of Shiro Tech, your direct rival company. About the new arrest warrant-”

“What have we been accused of? Selling people’s information?”

“And developing and attempting to sell illegal hardware that would violate certain privacy laws.”

With technology companies such as his, reputation is everything. Social media scandals are easy, just wait for people to forget and let it blow over. IT and security? Not so much. Even without his ass on the line, this would be a headache and a half.

“Those stupid sheeple love to act like they care about privacy at the most inconvenient times,” Gakushuu muttered bitterly. “Whatever. Clearly I’ve been framed.”

“Have you?” questioned Nagisa, inexplicably incredulous.

“The scrutiny isn’t great for the places where we’re toeing legal lines, but our ethics are typical of this industry. They have no true evidence against me. This is a setup.” He drummed his nails against the desk. “Is there a way I can pin this on Horibe or something?” He needed someone he could string up and play victim to.

“You should be _thanking_ Horibe. He’s the one who hired Karma.”

“I’m not offended. I was planning to sell him out before.” The man in question suddenly made himself known in the group call, another video feed popping up with his words. Gakushuu suppressed a start. “Shiro was in the process of recruiting me. But Yanagisawa is very stupid. I could smell his weakness and bloodlust from a mile away. You are a much better leader.”

The compliment sandwich very nearly gave Gakushuu physical whiplash. He blinked, processing betrayal and reconciliation in a flash. The most important thing was that Horibe was apparently not cool with letting him get murdered, and back on his side for now. He’d need to take better control of his employees in the future though. Brush up on his brainwashing technique. “If Yanagisawa believes you to be on his side, clearly someone else is behind the hardware.”

“I don’t know if finding out exactly who’s behind this is so important right now,” said Nagisa. “We should focus on finding a resolution to Karma’s mission.”

“Of course it’s important,” Gakushuu argued. “I need to know them and their motives so I can track them down and force them to clear my name. That’s who I’ll play victim to.”

Nagisa frowned. “This is complex, though. I don’t know if you’ll be able to unravel it in time.”

“I don’t need to look for clues within the conspiracy. The intricacy of the trap itself narrows the list of suspects way down.” Mentally, Gakushuu assembled a list of people he knew had it out for him the most. “Horibe. Do you know any information about the designs we’ve supposedly tried to sell?”

After hearing an explanation from the other tech master, he gained an even sharper image. Developing the kind of tech they’d been accused of took skill that was not learned lightly. So it would have to be someone in the industry, or someone shady and wealthy enough to hire someone else to do it. Or some genius who _could_ learn such a skill lightly, for the sake of one plot.

His lips pulled away from his teeth in a painful smile. Looking back to the men on call, he tried to change it into a reassuring grin. “Not to fret, Horibe. As your leader, I’ll see to it that this is handled.”

“I wasn’t fretting.” Horibe’s monotone was cut off by Gakushuu ending the call. The reassuring smile dropped off his face.

Gakuhou Asano. Of course.

It almost made sense, but the true motive was still unclear. What could have prompted his father to suddenly come out of the woodwork with a move so extreme as to frame him for a crime?

“Because I was on the 30 under 30 Asia list?” It dawned on him aloud. It wasn’t just him who was targeted, but Horibe too. The right hand man he’d credited recently in his Forbes interview.

That might spur his father into action. The perception he was in some way falling behind in this _goddamn_ rivalry he had made up between them.

“Karma,” Gakushuu said heavily, swiveling his chair to face the assassin. “I need you to kill my father.”

Karma continued toying with his handheld game. “You can’t afford me.”

“Of course I can!”

“The thing about becoming a fugitive is that they freeze your assets.”

“Offshore?”

“You’re gonna need _that_ to pay me for _this_ job.”

Something akin to a growl escaped the CEO. Karma just had to be difficult, per usual. Though, there was a way Gakushuu knew from experience that he could be tamed, temporarily. He stood and strode over to the bed. When Karma refused to acknowledge him, he pushed the toy out of the way, leaning his face over his to look at him upside down.

“You. Me. Private island. Final offer.”

Karma’s eyes were half lidded as he hummed. “Arrogant as ever I see.”

“Is that a yes?”

“That's a ‘just how much do you think your ass is worth exactly’.”

“More than anything you’ve ever owned,” Gakushuu retorted with a frustrated tut, straightening. He threw up an exasperated hand. “Escort me to my father then. That must be cheaper.”

“The lack of murder does bring the price way down,” Karma considered. He tilted his head against the sheets. “Are you even sure you want him dead though? I thought his approval meant everything to you. You were his, what was it? Corporate slave? Dog?”

“Unlike you, _I_ have outgrown my childish habits.” Gakushuu crossed his arms. “And even if I hadn’t, I draw the line for sentimentality at almost being strangled to death in a hotel room.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I say,” Gakushuu stressed, “we’re going back to Tokyo.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You see, most people think thicker rope is better, but it’s actually all about the flexibility.”

Gakushuu looked down into his basket of duct tape and black spray paint. “Isn’t this suspicious as hell?” The emptiness of the store due to it being nearly closing time only made him feel even more blatantly shifty.

“That’s why we’re getting this stuff now instead of in Tokyo,” Karma replied as he compared two bundles of restraints. “And we’ve established I’m not taking on the job. Do you still plan to or something?”

“I plan to confront him,” Gakushuu said severely.

Karma looked back, considering him for a moment. “If you do finally snap and kill him, I’ll take care of the cleanup in exchange for bearing witness to something so priceless,” he offered, adding the rope to their basket before moving on. “If you get blood everywhere though I’m making you help me. Snacks?”

Come to think of it, Gakushuu was pretty hungry. His dinner plans had kind of been interrupted earlier. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a grocery store, and the only food aisle was nothing but junk he would usually never put in his body.

“Money is no object,” Karma proclaimed to the shelves of two hundred yen snacks. “I’ll admit to owing you since I did gorge myself on room service before you came back to the room.” The CEO internally sighed in annoyance at the reminder. “That place had really good gelato.”

Gakushuu’s first instinct was to demand they stopped somewhere else for a real meal, but if they wanted to reach the Asano residence and finish dealing with his father by the end of the night, they needed to move. He settled for some popular chip brands and bottled tea.

  
“Oh, look!” Karma excitedly turned to him, holding a condiment tube in each hand.

“Wasabi paste and spicy mustard?”

“It’s a surprise tool that will help us later.” Karma winked as he tossed them into the basket. A few packaged cakes joined the bunch and soon they were weaving their way back toward the front.

“Oh,” said Karma, as easily distracted as a cat faced with a laser. He picked up a plastic monster mask off of an aisle display. “We should scare your dad with these.” He played peekaboo with it before leaning into the other’s space. In a strange way, the monster held a bit of a resemblance to the principal’s own glitchy mug, and Gakushuu found himself unamused as he leaned away, brushing past with a tut.

“Quit wasting time.”

It appeared they truly were the dead last consumers, the fallen night visible through the front doors as they checked out.

“Anything else?” asked the cashier.

If he was going to be eating chips…Gakushuu picked up a minipack of hand wipes from the stand, inadvertently adding disinfectant to their subdue Gakuhou kit.

“And this.” Karma added the mask.

The cashier raised a brow as she scanned, playful enough to not make Gakushuu panic. “Interesting plans tonight? Kidnapping, perhaps?”

Gakushuu offered up a charming smile as he chuckled. “We’re not kidnappers, we’re just…”

“Kinky.” He could practically see the devil horns sticking out of Karma’s head. Felt a hand on his hip as the assassin turned to him. “Anything else you want to get your blood sugar up, babe?”

Gakushuu’s smile froze.

“As easily embarrassed as ever,” Karma chuckled as they exited the store with a ding.

“You think you’re _so cute_ ,” Gakushuu seethed through heated cheeks.

“I’m not the one who thinks my ass is worth millions of yen.” 

“Try billions, Karma! And you’re right, you’ve got a poor man’s ass.” 

Karma’s eyebrows shot up as another, more scathing laugh escaped him. “Oh really now? Remember it well?”

Gakushuu slammed the car door shut with impressive force. The fact that he was enclosing himself into a confined space with the person he was arguing with rather than leaving the scene with finality took some of the bite out of it though.

Stuck in a car with Karma Akabane for several hours.

He was almost starting to miss that maintenance man.

As Karma set the bags on the backseat and climbed in to start the ignition, Gakushuu rummaged around his space in the car impatiently. “Where’s my phone?”

“I threw it out.”

“Instead of just turning it off or something?” snapped Gakushuu angrily. “That would have sufficed as far as tracking goes.”

“We’re not all tech wizzes like you, Ace-kun,” said Karma, but Gakushuu was far from stupid. It was endless with this man! Never enough buttons to press. He closed his eyes and struggled to remind himself that strangling Karma, even if he could manage it, would do him no good in this situation.

“I’m technically your employer right now,” he reminded darkly. “You should think twice before deliberately provoking me.”

“I don’t need you getting yourself all worked up over a scandal if there’s nothing you can actually do about it for hours,” Karma replied. “You made your little plan, now let it be.”

“I’m not as neurotic as I used to be,” Gakushuu defended against Karma’s point.

“That’s true,” Karma conceded as he opened one of his packaged cakes, popping the whole whole thing into his mouth before speaking around the food. “The Asano I knew would have cracked under this kind of stress three times over by now.”

“Imagine,” said Gakushuu, almost wistfully. “If you just kill my father, we might even be able to get along.” Though he wasn’t too hopeful.

Karma’s eyes were as bright and sharp as ever. “What’s the fun in that?”

This was going to be a long drive. With Karma. And no phone.

Silence and radio was only an option for so long. Over time Gakushuu’s blood pressure eventually lowered, but restlessness rose in its place. He wasn’t used to doing nothing for extended periods of time, and phone be damned, his mind would kick into unwanted overdrive with nothing to occupy it, like film spinning loose from an old movie projector. He was forced to eventually start up conversation, beginning an endless flow of uncharacteristic chatter over the topic that came to him most easily at the moment. Complaining about his father.

“It’s some stupid competition that I don’t even care about.” Gakushuu split open his third bag of chips, a foregone conclusion once he’d finally caved and opened the first one. The CEO was rediscovering that unhealthy = gross was a lie he’d told himself at some point to keep his diet and image in check. He picked up one of Karma’s cakes, ignoring the way the assassin’s eyes cut to him. Shoveling food into his mouth was actually kind of helping. He could see how a lesser man would succumb to the habit of stress eating. Hm. Perhaps he was still a bit neurotic. “I told my friends about it freshman year of college; they looked at me like I was crazy. I thought it was just cultural differences but apparently not. _I’ve_ moved on, but clearly _he_ hasn’t.”

“You still seem pretty fixated on it.”

“Because he brought it back up!”

“Okay okay, whatever you say. But even though we have a couple hours left in this drive, I’d really rather not hear your whole life story.”

“You still have your phone don’t you? Give it to me.”

“You should rest,” said Karma, his irritation too razor sharp to be fully concealed in the faux friendly tone of the offer. It seemed the annoyer could become the annoy-ee, and Gakushuu was feeling particularly vengeful tonight.

“Me? Close my eyes and let you drive unsupervised after you nearly killed us on the way to the motel?”

“If you’re really that worried about my driving, you should have let us spend the night there to rest up.”

“I would rather stay up for the rest of the week than spend the night in that flea infested matchbox.” Karma offends him, he truly does. “And I’m running on enough spite to last me for days.” Another empty bag of chips was neatly folded and tucked into the side door compartment. “Expresso could help, though.”

“If you’re good I’ll let you get gas station coffee.”

Gakushuu wrinkled his nose. “It’s like you’re only capable of having the worst combination of words leave your mouth.”

As they lapsed back into silence, Gakushuu occupied himself with transforming one of his chip bags into an origami crane. The foil was too slippery, and the form popped apart immediately. Boredom, Karma’s initial snarky chuckle, and his unwillingness to admit defeat saw him attacking wrappers until the creases were too deep to be ignored. 

“Has anyone since me been around to tell you that you’re literally insane?” Karma had commented when he dug out a pack of gum for adhesive.

Triumphantly, he eventually sat back to admire the row of fragile birds. Even if it was something pointless, he’d accomplished something on this drive.

“You know, you should be thanking me.” Karma suddenly spoke up unprompted, in a tone that made Gakushuu brace for an annoying line of conversation.

“I’m paying you,” he dismissed.

“I’m not really one to take risks, and yet here I am on a road trip with a wanted criminal,” Karma went on. “I can’t get arrested. I’m not supposed to exist.”

What an odd way to phrase it. “What do you mean?”

Karma glanced over at him, looking like he hadn’t realized how strange his last statement was. “Well legally I’m dead,” he said offhandedly. “Turns out that kind of thing is really easy to fake when you’ve been impersonating your parents in paperwork for years.”

“What the hell? How did I not know about that?”

“You were busy being a big shot at MIT.”

Gakushuu settled back thoughtfully. Bizarre that Karma straight up died and he never knew. “Nagisa?”

“He’s one of those long lost children on the back of milk cartons. Though I doubt anyone would be able to pick him out since his mom didn’t have any pictures where he doesn’t look like a girl.”

The man _was_ rather feminine looking. With longer hair, Gakushuu might have been convinced.

“Even if the zombie thing isn’t an issue, if the government gets a hold of my DNA it’ll be such a mess for the future.”

The potential of being better connected to future crime scenes would be quite the threatening nuisance for an assassin, Gakushuu supposed. Karma had certainly chosen quite the career path. “Why’d you become an assassin anyway? With your scores you could have gotten into any school I did.”

“Well, when I was a kid I wanted to be a movie director. Or a stuntman,” Karma revealed after a thoughtful hum. “It’s so hard to make a name for yourself in movies though. Assassination is easier. Way less gatekeeping. And way more freedom to do whatever I want.” He flashed his teeth in a quick smile with an evil edge. “A lot of action movies are actually ruined for me now though. So full of inaccuracies. But I can appreciate cutting out the boring parts.”

Thinking back, Gakushuu did remember him being a nerd for action and comics. A strange nostalgia touched him as he recalled the figurines in his rival’s house and the bright, distracting posters on his bedroom walls. In high school they were always more enemies than friends, mostly just entangled by mutual animosity and hormones. For all their time spent together, they’d never talked about this kind of thing before. Hopes and dreams and bullshit like that.

“Hm,” was all the CEO said, eyeing his origami army.

“You seem to be doing well with your dream. Corporate slave and all.”

“Corporate master,” Gakushuu corrected offhandedly.

“Leading the rat race, but you’re still on the track,” said Karma. “No life outside of work. I bet your pop culture awareness is so bad that I could tell you mission stories and you wouldn’t be able to guess if they were mine or from a blockbuster.”

Such a pointless challenge was very reminiscent of their high school days. Gakushuu’s response was the same as always.

“You’re on.”

“Off the roof? Absolutely not! You are such a liar!” Gakushuu complained, laughter edged in his tone.

“No no, I swear!” Karma laughed, waving a hand. Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at him in an attempt to determine if the laughter was genuine or could be used as evidence of treachery. “Nagisa felt so terrible he tracked the kid’s information and mailed him a gift. He’s such a softy despite his profession. He doesn’t know I attached a card saying ‘Sorry I popped your bouncy castle, but thanks for breaking my fall. Save me a slice next year’.”

“It’s from that stupid CIA comedy a few years back!”

“Nope.” Karma popped his p.

“This bet is rigged! You get to make up all the answers!” Gakushuu wasn’t protesting because he was _losing_ , mind you. It was the principle of it. He was being _lied to_. Had to be. 

Karma shrugged innocently before throwing up a peace sign. “Guess you could say my life’s a movie.”

“Now I actually need a phone. We’re Googling it!”

“If only to prove you wrong- It’s in my bag with the Switch,” Karma relented easily. “Careful though, there are weapons too.”

Gakushuu had to unbuckle his seatbelt to twist around and reach the bag practically tucked under his seat from behind. The seat of his pants ended up pointed at the windshield. 

“Slap it and you’ll pay the price,” he warned, the answering snort telling him he’d read Karma’s mind.

He came back with two phones in hand. Karma quickly unlocked the red one before tossing it back.

“You’re quiet. Was I right?”

“You’re splitting hairs.”

“What does it say, Ace-kun?”

“This is irrelevant; for all I know you’re making up the Nagisa thing completely.”

“I’m offended you think so little of me Ace-kun.” Karma placed a hand over his heart. “Assassin’s honor.” 

Gakushuu eyed him. “Whatever.”

“Sounds like I’ve earned yet another victory to tote above your head.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes with an indignant scoff, pausing before he moved to lock the phone. His thumb itched to Google his own name, even knowing what he’d find. To be clear, if he’d actually wanted to look at these things at the beginning of the drive Karma certainly couldn’t have stopped him. It was that part of him had agreed obsessing over press the whole ride was a bad idea. But now they were nearing their destination.

Karma kept his eyes on the road, a clear message he no longer cared.

Gakushuu quickly typed up the search and began scrolling through articles. Mostly uninformed speculation, but the crime he’d been charged with was more than enough to create a perceived breach of trust with customers. He groaned. It was one thing to predict bad publicity attempting to rip you to shreds, another thing entirely to see it in action. Talking with Karma he’d almost forgotten. 

The CEO deflated in anticipatory exhaustion, the thunk of his forehead against the dashboard rattling the cranes. “I am in such deep shit now.”

“Oh, no need to act so worried Ace-kun. You look like the week before finals, but it’s not me you’re up against this time.”

Gakushuu turned his head to glare at him flatly.

Karma gave a look of his own. “Don’t act like spinning this narrative won’t be easy for you. Fugitive on the run to prove your innocence under your own father is a tale almost too noble for you.”

“I’ll write the book to improve publicity,” the fugitive half joked back.

“Can I direct the movie?”

“Improving publicity doesn’t involve further associating with the likes of you,” he said, but the glowering words didn’t match his smile as he straightened.

Karma handed him the second phone. “You should check in with Horibe to decide what you’re gonna do when we get there.”

A strange mix of anxiety, excitement, and satisfaction rushed through Gakushuu as he checked Karma’s private messages, manifesting as a smirk. “He was able to dig up some clues pointing to my theory. Nothing that would hold up in court, but enough for me.” 

Karma lifted a hand to gesture as if picturing a Hollywood sign. “For the title of your book I’m thinking ‘Ace-kun’s Emancipation’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petition to change title to Ace-kun’s Emancipation
> 
> This chapter was kind of a struggle but the good news is chapter 4 practically wrote itself in the meantime. This fic’s days are now as numbered as Gakuhou’s.


	4. Ace-kun's Emancipation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual last chapter this time. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Gakushuu peered through the darkened windshield at his childhood classr- home. He never would have thought he’d be back here, especially under such circumstances. The second unexpected reunion in half as many days.

He was glad they’d arrived in the dead of night; seeing the cold contemporary structure in the light of day might have been stark enough to knock him off kilter.

Beside him, Karma removed his jacket, exposing the knife on his belt. He reached across Gakushuu’s lap to retrieve black gloves from the glove compartment and pull them on as he prepared to depart. Gakushuu’s heart was beginning to accelerate as the impending confrontation became more real.

“If the security system hasn’t changed then there should be-”

“This isn’t my first time sneaking into your house, remember?” Karma’s golden eyes met his. The amused turn at the corner of his lips was less of a smirk and more of a…reassurance.

Gakushuu exhaled. “Right.”

Karma hefted the rope. “I’ll go in and get him all wrapped up like a Christmas gift. Then you can have fun getting him to talk.” He waved a tube of wasabi paste and bounced his brows. Gakushuu still wasn’t clear on what the condiment was for. 

Karma pulled on the monster mask and slipped out of the car with a thumbs up while Gakushuu was suppressing his eye roll.

Gakushuu sat silently in the dark while waiting for Karma’s message, actively working to smooth over his anxiety. It would be an insult to Karma’s skills to worry, but he also refused to admit he was nervous about seeing the principal again. This familiar uncomfortable buzz he often felt outside that office, he was far beyond it now.

The phone in his grip lit up. Karma was ready for him. 

He slunk out of the car and headed for the door, stuck between stealthing over and marching into the confrontation. Through the unlocked entrance he approached the living room.

“I knew you were still alive, you menace,” he could hear his father growling at Karma. “What do you want from me?”

Gakushuu stepped into view, meeting the eyes of a Gakuhou seated in a chair dragged into the center of the room, tied up in a stereotypical hostage knot. Karma had even dragged over a standing lamp for the interrogation, as if the older man would ever sweat under something like that. Maybe the assassin just thought the setup was funny.

“Asano. Of course.” Gakuhou sounded much more like he was greeting an arch nemesis than his only child. Though, in his mind, Gakushuu was technically both.

Gakushuu in turn approached his bound father with the stride of a Bond villain, confidence boosted by the sight of him fully at their mercy. “I expected better from you, father.”

“It was a surprise attack.”

“I meant as a parent!”

Gakuhou scoffed. “This again? Any shortcomings in my parenting have been made up for in my excellence as an educator.”

“You conspired against me with a rival company.”

Gakuhou didn’t look apologetic in the slightest. “I needed to remind you how quickly the strong can become the weak if they’re not careful. How easily the natural order can be upended.”

“What the actual _fuck_ , father? I almost got assassinated over this.”

That at least gave Gakuhou pause. “I did not realize,” he said thoughtfully. “I may have increased Yanagisawa’s bloodlust too much. Into the literal.” He straightened, and once again became a man incapable of admitting fault. “But you survived. I’ve made you strong.”

“So you admit this is about that stupid rivalry you invented between us when I was in jr high?”

“You say that like you weren’t an active participant bent on destroying me.”

“I mean-”

“And one must utilize all of the tools at their disposal to triumph over their competition,” Gakuhou went on. “Our blood relation is no cause for special treatment. You knew that when you challenged me.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you became completely unhinged,” Karma commented, picking at his nails.

Gakuhou’s eyes cut to the redhead. “And it all started with you, Akabane.”

Karma lit up, clapping his hands together. “Holy shit, this is all on me?”

“I knew you and my son were conspiring against me, even back in high school.” 

“Mm, conspiring against the enemy does sound like a good date idea.”

“If you consider what we did in high school dating I pity the people you’ve attempted to court since then,” said Gakushuu.

“Under the guise of enemy rivals, you two formed a rebel alliance to drag my educational philosophy through the mud,” Gakuhou said darkly. “A public back and forth of shortcoming and failure, all culminating in my legacy being deemed salutatorian.”

“Wait, you think Ace-kun losing the top spot was all part of some giant conspiracy?” Karma was visibly and audibly fighting for every word through his laughter. “Sorry, pops, he just lost!” 

A flush of embarrassment heated Gakushuu’s cheeks as the assassin clutched his stomach, bending over to howl unabashedly. Gakushuu might just have to kill them both. For the sake of his pride. His karate was a bit rusty, but perhaps he could still take Karma on now that his guard was lowered and his head bowed. Instead he shoved firmly at his shoulder, forcing him to spin away and exit the conversation.

Gakuhou narrowed his eyes. “There was no alliance? With all the secrecy you maintained around your private meetings and joint study sessions, you were never coordinating the outcomes of your exam rankings?”

Gakushuu’s blush refused to leave him. “Not exactly.”

“Well.” Gakuhou frowned. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed.”

That probably shouldn’t have stung the way it did. “Nevermind that. Just come clean about the hardware and clear my name.”

“You should know better than to expect handouts, Asano,” said Gakuhou, unmovable. “The only way you take victory in this battle is by unraveling the trap I’ve set for you.”

Gakushuu’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t test me, father.”

“Oh I’m quite literally testing you.” There was enough _principal_ in his opponent’s tone to make him grit his teeth. “Think of this as an exam. Passing proves that you and your company are strong enough to survive anything.”

Gakushuu ground his teeth again, at his limit with the principal and his ‘lessons’.

But it wasn’t as if he’d come here without a plan.

His father had already made the opening move, figuring he’d cornered his former protege quite well with a surprise attack against his image. The warrant was obviously more about defamation than any slap on the wrist legal consequences. To escape the trap Gakushuu would have to prove his innocence in court by revealing Gakuhou as the true perpetrator, which would be a devastating blow to _his_ reputation. 

All to test Gakushuu’s strength, assuming he’d grown weak since he strayed from his father’s divine educational philosophy. 

With stakes so high, this was clearly meant to be their final battle. Loser dies. Metaphorically. 

Or so the principal had assumed. 

His father had expected him to be on the defensive, but being here with Karma was quite an offensive move. An unforeseen miscalculation on his part.

“Give me your knife, Karma.”

“Will you give me two minutes to make popcorn?” asked the assassin as he handed it over.

On instinctive anger alone Gakushuu would have been more than happy to drag him and his father both into reputation hell, but that was the route chosen by a man with nothing to lose. A failure’s mindset, truly.

“How’s the school doing?”

Gakuhou eyed the knife, face neutral. “A glaringly obvious opening move.” Kunugigaoka, prized as it was to Gakuhou, would be the most preemptively protected against retaliation, even more so than the principal himself. Most private pathways to hurting it would have been cut off as a precaution. Not much could be done about public channels, however.

“You assume that even if you go down, your educational philosophy will survive,” Gakushuu observed.

“I assume that you’ll never be strong enough to beat me, so it’s not a concern.” Gakushuu’s eye twitched, but the knife didn’t move. Its presence was meant to unnerve, not threaten. Fray his target a bit at the edges before the real strike. Killing Gakuhou now could turn into too much of a headache if his name wasn’t cleared first. “And that knife is almost cute, but I know you won’t kill me. You’ve clearly learned nothing from my tutelage if you think such archaic and empty scare tactics hold any real power. Even if you did kill me, it’s hardly a win.”

“Oh, that’s only his second blade,” interjected Karma, too rapt to risk grabbing a snack for his show.

“After all these years, you plan to end our rivalry now. Come after me and try to prove my weakness now. Why? 30 Under 30 certainly seemed to have something to do with it, but I’ve been doing well for myself for quite a while now as far as general success goes. We’re not even in the same field,” Gakushuu started. “The only explanation is that there was a measurable, tangible finish line in sight on your side. So you tried to trip me, disqualify me, for a total, humiliating victory. Not in general success, but in proving your philosophy I rejected.”

“That time in the states did ruin you.”

Gakushuu chuckled sardonically. “And suddenly you’re a surveillance hardware expert? Something certainly _smelled_.” He was well practiced in sniffing out even the smallest truffles of blackmail to give him any modicum of control over his father.

“Horibe and I did a bit of snooping. He’s my right hand man for a reason. I told him where to look, and he found it.” Gakushuu’s face cut open into a smile straddling an unsettling line between caustic and genuinely pleased, eyes almost manic with restrained excitement. “Spying on your students? Really? Whole swaths of data tracking their every breath and performance, down to even medical records taken by the nurses?”

Gakuhou’s eyes grew dark enough to chill anyone lesser to the bone like the vacuum of space. “It’s research requested and overseen by the government. An opportunity to prove my philosophy’s supremacy once and for all.”

“I’d argue it’s borderline human experimentation. Anything for funding, right? And the government won’t stick around to defend you in the court of public opinion.” He feigned concern with a hand on his chest, still smiling. “Children as lab rats! Perish the thought.”

Gakuhou had grown pale and hardened defensively, but that wasn’t nearly enough for Gakushuu. He’d learned quite a few lessons under his father actually, and one he’d always carried with him was the determination to push his opponents until he’d broken them. To crush them so completely they had no choice but to crumble beneath him.

“Even if Horibe and I get arrested tomorrow, Karma would be more than happy to stand back and tip the scales.” He nodded to the demon with growing excitement dancing in his eyes. 

“If you take the fall you intended for me, that’s one thing. I might not even be able to get you for the hardware, like you said. But if you take _this_ fall, they’ll tear your school to shreds, and your system will fall apart. Without your strong hand to guide them, present and future students would turn out weak. Vulnerable.” He leaned down enough to be face to face with his father, their gazes glinting off of each other like steel on steel. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Karma whistled. Gakushuu ignored him, and straightened, allowing some smugness to seep into his posture. 

“I am merciful, so I will give you a choice.”

“You’re bluffing.” The easy dismissal sent a vicious shock up Gakushuu’s spine.

“Don’t insult me more than you already have,” he snapped, pointing the knife in his father’s face. Gakuhou was forced to lean back to avoid the blade. “A pathetic rebuttal. Here’s a lesson for you: Before you make your move, you should take stock of all the pieces your opponent has left on the board.”

“What pieces? I bet you don’t even have real proof. It’s too sloppy.”

He didn’t need proof. He just needed enough semi-verified slander to make the threat of no one ever trusting Kunugigaoka with their child again a real one. Shroud the school's name in enough shame to deter anyone who may remain. It wasn’t clean or perfect or airtight, but he had the upper hand this time, he was sure of it. He and the principal leveled glares at each other in their final standoff.

And there it was. For the first time in his life, he could see it in his father’s eyes.

Doubt.

“And yet you’re ensnared by it.” Gakushuu’s venomous smile returned, and he leaned back again. Gakuhou said nothing. “You have to choose. You, or your education? Knowing you, I presume you’ll be preserving Kunugigaoka’s honor.” Forget the knife, his father would rather let a grenade go off in his face than admit his philosophy was wrong.

Which was what made it so pleasing to watch the man’s mind work through his options, and realize how limited they truly were. To for once find himself the one backed against the wall. Gakushuu’s fingers itched to type up a physical copy of the contract. A signed article of subjugation to frame for the occasion.

“Very well then.”

Gakushuu felt his heart stutter, his ears almost failing him in the shock of hearing his father _relent_. “Sir.”

“What?”

“Very well then, _sir_. Say it.”

“This is-”

“Say it!” The knife flashed as he raised it.

Gakuhou looked pained, like he was possibly debating the merits of being murdered by his own son over complying. “...Very well then...sir.”

“...I win.” Gakushuu chuckled dark and low before cracking open into full bodied maniacal cackling. The rivalry was ridiculous and long over, of course, but he won! “I won, you bastard!” he screamed, pointing a finger. “Who’s the dog now?”

“Heh heh, holy shit.” Karma’s eyes and smile widened as he watched Gakushuu finally snap, the evil laughter continuing. Gakushuu ignored him in favor of reveling in his favorite, if not greatest achievement.

“Are you done yet?” He caught the faintest hint of grumbling in his father’s tone.

“ _Never._ ” He felt Karma take a surprisingly gentle hold of his wrist, extracting the knife from his grip.

“Alrighty then,” the assassin said softly, sheathing it safely away.

Karma moved behind Gakuhou and stomped a foot to the back of the chair, pushing the captive man across the room and sliding him face first into a coat closet. Gakushuu’s gleaming grin only widened at his father’s indignant protests. “See ya later pops, the delinquents need to talk in private.” Karma shut the door behind him.

“‘Kay, now that that’s resolved, we’ll close everything out and I’ll message Nagisa for pickup,” said the assassin, striding back over. “You’ll get the charges dropped, sue your dad for a bonus, get your lifestyle back. Horibe can forward you the bill.”

“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Has it?”

Gakushuu waved a hand, mind slightly fuzzed as he was practically drunk on power. “Habitual phrase. No it hasn’t. But you know what we could do now?” He was buzzing; he didn’t want the feeling to end. A small gasp of realization escaped him and he tugged on Karma’s sleeve. “His bed is upstairs.”

Karma raised a brow. “I thought this meant you were finally over your daddy issues?”

Gakushuu sobered slightly. “I never had daddy issues. My father was just…an issue, all on his own.”

“You made him call you sir,” Karma pointed out with a lazy grin, and his heavy lidded amusement was always _so irritating_. “And you wanna fuck in his bed?”

“Ugh, nevermind. It was just a suggestion, but talking to you is ruining my mood again.”

“I just don’t want you getting it in your head that I’m indebted to your ass’ high price tag.”

“Oh, I don’t want you to kill him anymore,” said Gakushuu with flashing eyes. “He needs to live on knowing that he’s been beaten.”

“But no daddy issues.”

“Don’t act like it’s a problem _now_ ,” Gakushuu shot back. “Just shut up and lock the closet.”

A pleased mock salute from the assassin. “Yes, _sir_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was at least a little bit funny to someone cuz honestly the Asano Insanity™ made this feel like crack as I was writing it


End file.
